The Manawatū River (file image). Photo: 123RF
Two double drownings within days of each other at the same spot highlight the dangers of swimming in rivers when the current is strong, a coroner says.
Almost two years ago, on 29 December, 2021, 11-year-old Blae Ler Paw and 29-year-old Mu Mu drowned in the Manawatū River in Palmerston North.
Just five days later, on 2 January, 2022, Toetu Tonisitino, 39, and Aukusitino Ioane, 25, died at the same spot.
The four drowned at Ahimate Reserve. Ahimate loosely translates as calm death.
River guardians Rangitāne o Manawatū placed a rāhui on the river on 29 December, but there was no signage advising of this. A rāhui is a Māori customary practice where entry to an area is prohibited to allow it to heal after the discovery of a body.
Coroner Robin Kay has today released findings into the four deaths, confirming them as drownings.
The coroner said officials had since taken steps to increase safety in the area.
On the afternoon of 29 December 2021, Blae Ler Paw was playing in the river at the reserve on a flutter board, when she got into trouble.
She was there with family and friends, including Mu Mu and Mu Mu's 8-month-old child, who gathered for a picnic.
Blae Ler Paw was drifting away from the group and struggling to stay afloat, so Mu Mu entered the water to rescue her, but also got into difficulty. Mu Mu was fully clothed, wearing a skirt or dress and a cardigan, and also struggled to stay above the surface.
Witnesses saw them disappear under the water. They did not resurface.
A large search and rescue operation, including two helicopters and two drones, failed to find them.
Blae Ler Paw's body was found 500 metres downstream two days later, and Mu Mu's was found five days later 9 kilometres away.
Coroner Kay said the river was swollen after heavy rain, and its current was strong and fast.
The river was about 900 millimetres deep near the riverbank, when it would normally be 250-300mm at that time of year. Further out from the surface its depth dropped suddenly to 5 metres.
"It is likely that the strength of the current drew Blae Ler Paw into deeper water, in which she could not touch the riverbed," the coroner said.
"Although she had the flutter board with her, witnesses say that Blae Ler Paw struggled to stay afloat. This is unsurprising given the strength of the current in the river.
"It is reported that Blae Ler Paw was not a strong swimmer, and it appears that the river conditions exceeded her swimming ability."
The coroner said Mu Mu not removing her clothes before she entered the river was done unthinkingly, or because she did not realise the strength of the current.
Mu Muwas not a strong swimmer, and her husband said he had only seen her swim three times.
The coroner said Blae Ler Paw and Mu Mu, members of Palmerston North's Karen-Myanmar community, found themselves in conditions that significantly outstripped their swimming ability.
"Rivers can present extreme challenges that are often not obvious to swimmers.
"A river can look calm on the surface, despite it having strong currents below, and murky rivers not only make it difficult to see how deep the river is, but can also hide things in the water that may strike a swimmer or cause them to become tangled in it, or injured by it."
Coroner Kay said he wanted to acknowledge Mu Mu's actions.
"Mu Mu was not a strong swimmer, yet she entered the river in an attempt to save the life of Blae Ler Paw.
"While it would have been better for her to have attempted a land-based rescue, her decision was both understandable and brave."
After the pair's deaths, the rāhui was instigated, and the Palmerston North City Council took urgent steps, such as including removing images of the reserve from a tourism campaign and other publicity. Horizons Regional Council took similar action, such as halting a swimming spot campaign.
Second double-drowning
On 2 January 2022, police asked the city council for signage and communications to help them stop people entering the reserve. The council started work on this, while the regional council put a message on social media about the rāhui.
But that evening Ioane and Tonisitino were there with their families. They and two other men decided to float downstream on two logs they found.
Ioane and Tonisitino held on to the same log. A witness said the log got stuck in "a swirly bit of river" and the pair let go, shouting for help as they struggled to stay afloat.
The two men on the other log, and another person, tried to help, but they could not save the drowning pair. At one stage Ioane grabbed the shoulders of a rescuer, but could not hold on.
Their bodies were found in the river later that evening.
The coroner said it was not surprising Ioane and Tonisitino could not swim to the riverbank after they let go of the log, due to the strength of the current.
"The current they encountered exceeded the swimming ability of Mr Ioane, who was a good swimmer. Not being a good swimmer, Mr Tonisitino would have quickly found himself in a situation from which he had little hope of escaping."
The following day, "Danger, swimming not advised" signs were put up at the reserve, and on 4 January 2022, signs advising of the rāhui were erected.
Following meetings between iwi and officials there were now protocols for when a rāhui was in place, and water safety signs had gone up.
Too many drownings
Coroner Kay praised these efforts, but said despite campaigns to educate people about the risks of getting in the water, far too many New Zealanders drowned.
He cited figures from Water Safety New Zealand finding 816 preventable drownings in the country from 2013-2022. Of those, 188 people, including 161 men or boys, died in rivers, and 57 people died while swimming.
The coroner noted advice from Water Safety NZ about issues to be aware of in rivers, including that their current could be strong even if it didn't look it, and that there could be unseen obstacles, so swimmers should look before they leap.
Water Safety NZ advised people to stay out of rivers for 72 hours after heavy rain, and that if someone were in trouble, the best way to rescue them was from dry land by trying to get them to grab hold of an object, such as a branch.
If they could not, floating on their backs was the best way for them to be carried by the current.
"I believe that ongoing national campaigns to raise public awareness of the risks of drowning play a key role in reducing the number of such deaths, as do practical resources for developing water skills," Coroner Kay said.
He said it was vital people understood the risks of local bodies of water.